MEP Yannis Maniatis (S&D) has asked the European Commission to clarify the status of the Great Sea Interconnector, a key electricity link between Greece and Cyprus, which faces serious implementation delays. In a written parliamentary question submitted on 23 April 2026, Maniatis questions whether the Greek and Cypriot authorities have requested EU financial or technical assistance for a study that was supposed to examine the project's economic parameters but has reportedly not yet been commissioned. He also asks if the Commission plans new measures to accelerate interconnections that are stalling, amid a deteriorating energy market due to successive crises.
The question, filed under Rule 144, follows the Commission's previous response (E-004589/2025) acknowledging that the project meets the criteria of the TEN-E Regulation, including a positive cost-benefit analysis. The Great Sea Interconnector has been included for the seventh time in the EU list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), received significant funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), and is part of the Energy Highways outlined in the December 2025 European Grids Package. However, in autumn 2025, Greek and Cypriot authorities decided to delay the project, stating they would commission a study on its economic parameters, which has not yet been initiated.
Maniatis, a Greek MEP from the Socialists and Democrats group, is pushing for concrete answers on the timeline for the study and whether EU institutions have been asked for support. He also urges the Commission to consider new initiatives to address serious delays in strategically important interconnections, especially given the geopolitical and energy importance of ending Cyprus's energy isolation, promoting market integration, and facilitating green electricity.
The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks. Its response will signal whether it plans to take a more proactive role in unblocking the project or will leave the pace to member states, highlighting the tension between EU-level energy integration goals and national sovereignty over infrastructure decisions.